Universal Design in Education (UDE) Across the Life Course: Applying a Systems Framework to Create an Inclusive Experience for All.

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) promotes the realisation of the right of persons with disabilities to education through Article 24 - Education. Universal Design in Education (UDE) fosters a whole systems approach so that the physical and digital environments, the educational services, and the teaching and learning can be easily accessed, understood and used, by the widest range of learners and by all key stakeholders, in a more inclusive environment. The whole systems approach incorporates the entire educational environment, as well as the recognition of the capacity for all learners (including persons with disabilities) to learn, and environments which are fully accessible and inclusive. This paper discusses methods whereby a systems approach can be applied to various aspects of education across the life continuum. It further advocates the inclusion of Universal Design as subject matter in curricula and assessment, to ensure a broader and more widespread adoption across the educational spectrum.

Universal Design as a Transformative Agent in Education for All Learners.

Universal Design (UD) offers a "whole systems approach" and has the capacity to transform the educational environment to encompass all learners. This paper proposes a new framework for a systems change to address the systemic rigidity that often characterises the education sector today. A human development ecological framework combined with Universal Design (UD) and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) with the potential to transform teaching and learning practices and associated policies, procedures and services for the benefit of all learners.

Measuring the design of empathetic buildings: a review of universal design evaluation methods.

PURPOSE: Universal design (UD) provides an explanation of good design based on the user perspective, which are outlined through its principles, goals, and related frameworks. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the frameworks and methods for UD building evaluations and to describe how close they have come to describing what a universally designed building is. METHODS: Evaluation approaches are reviewed from the existing literature across a number of spatial disciplines, including UD, human geography and urban studies. RESULTS: Four categories of UD evaluation methods are outlined, including (1) checklist evaluations, (2) value-driven evaluations, (3) holistic evaluations, and (4) invisible evaluations. CONCLUSIONS: A number of suggestions are made to aid research aimed at developing UD evaluation in buildings. (1) Design standards and guidelines should be contested or validated where possible; (2) evaluation criteria should be contextual; (3) it may be more practical to have separate methodologies for contextualising UD to allow for the creation of an evaluating tool that is practical in use. Additionally, there is a difficulty in establishing a clear basis for evaluating how empathetic buildings are without expanding the methodological horizons of UD evaluation. Implications for Rehabilitation For universal design (UD) evaluation to address human need requires methods that are culturally, temporally, and typologically specific. Practical instruments for measuring UD need to be divorced from but contingent upon methods than can address local specificities. The process of evaluation can provide knowledge that can contest or validate the literature based sources such as design guidelines, or standards. UD evaluation requires constant renewal by searching for new, flexible strategies that can respond to socio-cultural change.

The AT continuum in education: novice to power user.

What factors regarding partnership/collaboration on a statement of AT (assistive technology) need result in students obtaining AT that they use and are satisfied in using? This is one of the questions posited in a study, which investigated both quantitatively and qualitatively the impact of assistive technology on quality of life, self-esteem and satisfaction of AT use of students with disabilities. A mixed methods approach was used to gather data from 45 students with disabilities in their final year of second level education. Following data analysis clear groupings emerged signifying key characteristics which defined novice to power users of AT in education.

Delivering an AT service: a client-focused, social and participatory service delivery model in assistive technology in Ireland.

PURPOSE: This article outlines the development of an Assistive Technology (AT) service delivery model and suggests that a client-focused social and participatory service delivery model in AT can achieve the best results for people with disabilities and their carers. METHOD: It draws on case studies, which are part of the final evaluation report of the Aphrodite (European Horizon funded project 1998-2000) project to illustrate the success of a client-focused service. The aim of the project was to provide people with disabilities access to a local technical resource in the form of Technology Liaison Officers (TLOs). CONCLUSION: TLO's are people with physical disabilities, who have been trained in AT and who have achieved a certificate in AT, to act as a liaison between users and potential users of AT and the Central Remedial Clinic's (CRC) Client Technical Services (CTS) Department.